


All You Had To Do Was Stay

by markesa



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers Compound, Canon Continuation, Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Spoilers, Depressing, Emotional Hurt, Hurt Tony Stark, M/M, Post-Battle of Sokovia, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Siberia Scene in Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pretty sad, Sad, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Whump, mcu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25543888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/markesa/pseuds/markesa
Summary: It's been a few months since Steve left him in Siberia and while physical wounds may heal, emotional hurt continues to plague Tony. Night after night Tony sits, trying to understand why things happened the way they did and why Steve turned on him. But the answer continues to evade Tony, and his emotions continue to consume his nights.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Steve Rogers/Tony Stark (Implied)
Kudos: 39





	All You Had To Do Was Stay

**Author's Note:**

> So, I haven't written a Marvel fanfic for a while, but inspiration suddenly hit after listening to the Civil War soundtrack, so here I am with a brand new (and sad) story! Also, yes, the title comes from Taylor Swift's song "All You Had To Do Was Stay" because I felt that title fit this fic. :)  
> As always, please feel free to comment/leave kudos/complain about this being sad/anything!  
> Enjoy!

Shattered glass and puddles of water litter the gray tiled floor. A bouquet of red wilted roses lies nearby.

The glass shards continue into the next room, this time on white carpet. Amber liquid pools around the surrounding glass, staining the otherwise pristine carpet.

The glass shards continue into another room, except it’s charcoal-colored linoleum now. No liquid surrounds the shards, but a man sits motionless in a cushioned chair in the middle of the room. The chair sits facing a panel of glass windows. In daylight, it’s a lovely view of trees and green grass. A peaceful paradise of nature. However, it’s night, and the moon is obscured by the clouds. Complete darkness awaits on the other side of the window, and the man is left staring into an empty abyss.

There are no lights on except for a small lamp behind the man. It casts a weak yellow glow across the table it sits on, but it does nothing to illuminate the man’s lightless view.

All is silent, and all would be almost peaceful except for the multiple shards of glass scattered in various rooms, indicating a prior less than serene event.

The man continues to look through the windows, unbothered by the mess around him. He’s completely still except for the slow and slight rise and fall of his chest.

“Tony?” A confused voice breaks the silence, and the man seems to awaken, turning his head behind him towards the small lamp and the source of the voice.

A man sits in a wheelchair next to the lamp. Concern is etched across his tired face, and his frown seems to add years onto him.

“Hey, buddy, everything okay?” The man in the chair, Tony, asks while quickly raising himself from his chair.

The other man raises his hand in a stop signal as Tony begins to take a step forward.

“Hey! Careful, there’s glass all over the floor, it’d be no good if you went and sliced your foot open on one of them,” the man warns as he cautiously rolls over to Tony. “And I think I should be the one asking you that.”

Tony shakes his head quickly, plastering an unbothered smile on his face. “I’m absolutely fine, Rhodey, trust me. Honestly,” he runs a shaky hand through his hair and forces a sharp laugh. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

The other man, Rhodey, sighs, shaking his head slowly. “It’s one of those nights, isn’t it?” he asks sagely, taking in Tony’s disheveled state.

It’s the clothes Tony wore whenever he was in his workshop. The very outfit he wore countless times when multiple Avengers used to live with them. Signs of a different time.

A wrinkled _Black Sabbath_ t-shirt and ripped and oil-stained jeans cover Tony, who waves a hand in indifference.

“It’s a normal night. Oh! Do you wanna watch a movie?” Tony nods, more to himself than Rhodey. “Yeah, a movie. With popcorn and maybe some of those cheese crackers. That’d be nice, and I wonder—“

“Tony.” Rhodey barks out, narrowing his eyes at his friend. “You know damn well you’re not fooling me or yourself. Sit back down and talk to me.”

The smile falters for a second and then slips off Tony’s face as if someone had just washed it away. A deep frown replaces the grin, and Tony drifts his now sunken eyes back to the floor covered in glass shards. “I don’t know why, I just—“ he breaks off in a deep sigh and rubs his face tiredly. “I can’t even keep my act together for you.”

James Rhodes, Rhodey, reaches out and gently pats one of Tony’s limp hands. “You’ve done more than enough for me, Tony. But you can’t help me if you don’t help yourself,” he gestures to the glass shards, “Now, care to explain what happened while I was out back?”

Tony sinks back into the cushioned chair and positions it to face Rhodes, who is slightly illuminated by the small glow of the lamp behind him.

“Steve.” Tony utters the single name, knowing that Rhodes would immediately understand the meaning.

Rhodes gently leans back in his wheelchair and looks up at the dark ceiling. “Do you have the phone?”

“Always do.”

“Then call him. Figure things out.”

“Not that easy.”

“It never is with you,” Rhodes taps his fingers against the handrest of his chair and purses his lips. “Communication is where you both went wrong, and now you’re avoiding the very thing that could work it all out.”

“You say that as if it was me who miscommunicated,” Tony leans forward in his chair and drops his voice to a low whisper. “It was all on _him_.”

Rhodes opens his mouth to comment, but Tony raises his hand in indignation. “He never even thought for a second that I deserved to know. Never considered me. Never considered anyone. Except for his damned _Bucky Barnes_.” He snarls the name as if it’s a curse.

“And that’s why you need to talk things out,” Rhodes promptly answers, unfazed by Tony’s agitation. “It’s basic instinct to protect your best friend. You’d protect me, too.”

Tony slaps his left knee as he laughs hysterically. “And how’d I do with protecting you?! Just look at you!” Tony cries, waving his hands at Rhodes’ chair. “I failed in protecting you, and just look, the entire universe just goes and punishes me further by having my best friend reveal that his best friend killed my damn parents.”

Tony grins sickingly while rubbing his chin in mock thought. “And, oh yeah, it all gets better when said best friend tries to kill me and leaves me to die in—“

“He didn’t leave you to die.”

“A FUCKING BUNKER IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE.”

“He didn’t leave you to die.”

The brunette man thuds back into his chair, a whoosh leaving his lungs at the force. “Could have fooled me.”

“We’ve discussed this already, Tony. It still doesn’t explain why you don’t pick up the damn flip phone he sent and call him.” Rhodes gently tells his friend, scanning the floor once more. “Why you went after all our glassware though, that’s a mystery I’d like answered.”

Tony warily raises his head from the back of the chair, looking at the floor in disinterest. “Glass breaks.”

Rhodes raises an eyebrow, waiting for Tony to continue.

“I broke the glass like he broke me,” Tony swallows and takes a deep breath before slowly releasing. “All he had to do was stay.”

Tony drops his head back down and closes his eyes, once more resuming his motionless position from earlier.

Rhodes sighs, taking in Tony’s resigned state. He’d get nothing more from him tonight, that much was clear. He’d have to try another night.

Rhodes rolls his wheelchair backwards slowly, trying to avoid the scattered glass. He knew it would be cleaned up in the morning, and the day would continue as if nothing happened. It was always the nights that hit the hardest.

Rhodes reaches the small lamp and pauses before deciding to leave it on. “Good night, Tony,” he whispers and slowly continues down the hall.

Silence fills the room once again and the brunette man sitting on the cushioned chair raises his head to gaze at the yellow glow of the light on the table.

He reaches into his right pocket and takes out a battered flip phone, running a thumb over the lid.

“All you had to do was stay,” he whispers, gazing at the small phone. “That was all you had to do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Comment and kudos always appreciated!


End file.
